Amusement device



` Jan. 7, 1941. J. P. coLuccl AMUSEMENT DEVICE @Mv/@wr seya DCE/zumal' BJ @M47 wf/Q4 Filed Nov. 25, 195B Patented Jan. 7, 1941 UNITED, STATES.'

PATENT OFFICE 2,227,705 AMUSEMENT DEVICE Joseph P; ColuccLChicago, Ill.

Application November 25, 1938, SerialNo. 242,261'

3` Claims.

My invention relates toy amusement devices, particularly to the class of amusement devices comprising a simple instrument for manipulating an attractively decorated spool to impart a ro- 5 tating motion thereto'and for projecting thesame up into the air.

I am aware that various devices have been proposed for projecting rotating, objects such. as marbles or metal spheres upy into` the air. One such device employs a track having a long straight portion terminating in an upward curve. A metal sphere rolls down the track and is projected from the upward curve of thetrack up into the air under the combined action of gravity and-of a deit manual movement. To facilitate this manual movement the track, which has a rather complicated cross-section, is provided with. al centrally located handle. In order to retrieve theballiwhile it is still in the air, the upper end of the trackl is provided with a cup, the relatively large diameter ofwhose rim increases the ease with which the ball may be caught.

Devices such as the one above mentioned are too complex, for large scaleI commercial produc-v tion, for one of the essential, requirements of the novelty toy trade issimplicity; and extremely low cost. It is also generally believedthattthegaudiness or the spectacular effect ofv a toy is a direct gage. of its popular success, provided other important requirements are met. It is manifestly impossible to modify the shape of a ball, or its size beyond a certain limit. The amount of deco ration that can be applied theretois likewise limited.

One of the objects of my invention is, therefore, to provide an extremely simple and inexpensive, but fascinating, amusement device.

Another object of my invention is to provide a device for projecting into the air rotatingobjects such as spools of diverse shapes and sizes attractively decorated.

Another object of my invention is toprovide a harmless toy suitable for children of all ages, requiring only moderate skill for its successful operation; but giving opportunity for the development of greater skill because of.A the 4,numerous methods of operating the toy.

Further objects and advantages of this invention will become apparent upon reading the `following description in conjunction with the attached drawing, in which:

Fig. lis a front elevation of my invention inthe position in which it is normally held' for use;

Fig. 2 is a section taken along the lines 2*-2 ci Fig. l;

Fig. 3 is a front elevation of aV modiiiediform orV spool for use with my'invention; and

Fig. 4 is a front elevation of still another form of spool for use with my invention.

In the attached drawing, like numbers-refer to 5 like parts.

An `amusement device according to my invention consists preferably-of only two parts, a spool I, and a curved trackl 0.

The track I0 consists of ansrshaped'piece of wood or similar material, or rather narrow` crosssection. The track comprises a long substantiallystraight portion II, having an upwardly and rearwardly curved continuation I2v at one end thereof, and` an' cppositely curved continuation I3 of the other end` of the straight portion terminating substantially at right angles thereto. The ends Illand I5 of the trackare roundedboth to avoid possible injury from sharp corners, and also to provide further opportunities for deriving amusement from the device, as will be described subsequently. The edges of the track are beveled, chamfered, or featheredy as at I6, around the entireperiphery of the track, yielding what is often called a feather-edge. The cross-section of the track lilas shown in Fig. 24illustrates the shapeof this feathered-edge I5, which is more or less trapezoidal, but` is somewhat smoothed and rounded to avoidk sharp-.corners The exact cross-section of the track. is best determined by trial with the type .of spool intended for use therewith.

The spool I may suitably consistoftwoflanges 2 spacedly joined by a pin 3. The inner faces of the flanges Iare convex. They seat upon the fath ered-edge It ofv track IU with a slight Wedging action, so -that thespool may roll along.` the track1 without slipping and without lateral movement. The spool rolls down the straight portion; I'I of` track It under the influenceof gravityalone, so that the grip of the flanges 2 upon the featherededge' I6 'must be sucient to give the spool traction, but must not be so tight `as to create unnecessaryfriction, which tends toretard the rolling. speed of the spool.

To operate the device, the track maybe grasped. by the curved portion I3, serving alternatively'as a handle. The spool is then allowed to rolldownA the inclined straight portion I I of the track. Thespool thereby acquires` sufcient momentum to. rolli around` the curved. continuation I2- of the track It; This momentum is augmented by a Q quick upward flip manually imparted tothe track by the operator by means of handle I3, which results in imparting an upward acceleration to 5 the spool sufficient to project it off of the end I5 of the curved continuation I2 of the track, up into the air. Because the curved portion I2 extends rearwardly, the trajectory I 'I of the spool is directed toward the operator, making it possible for him readily to retrieve the spool by allowing it to drop down upon him and to be reseated upon track III. It is a test of the operators skill to determine how many times in succession he can catch the spool near the top of the straight portion of the track and to repeat the cycle of operation. The trajectory I'I of the spool has been illustrated as being rather low. However, depending upon the vigor of the manual operation of the device, this trajectory may be much higher, although in all cases, because of the rearward curvature of the curved end I2 of the track, the spool will be projected back towards the observer, who can then retrieve the spool with relative ease.

When my amusement device is operated as described, the curved end I3 is used as a handle, or a separate handle may be used instead of this mere continuation of the track Ill. Because the track I Il is two-edged, being feathered on both sides or, more strictly speaking, around its entire periphery, it may be reversed, in which case the curved portion I2 is used as the handle, and the spool I is caused to roll around the curved portion I 3, which is upwardly curved when the track is held in the'reversed position. More skill is required to operate the device in this way because the curved portion I3 terminates substantially at right angles to the straight portion II. Under normal conditions the spool will consequently be projected either straight up into the air or along a trajectory I8 directed somewhat ahead of the operator, who must run forward at some speed in order to retrieve the spool at the top of track I o.

The above described method of operation requires considerably more skill and activity than the first described method of operation. It is a characteristic of my invention that only moderate skill is required for its successful operation, but that it also provides opportunity for the exercise of greater skill because of the several ways in which the invention may be used. For instance, a test of extreme skill is the ability to cause the spool I to roll around one of the sharply rounded ends I4 or I5 of the track Il) without leaving the track.

Although I have shown a preferred embodiment including two types of curved continuations of track I Il, I do not wish to restrict myself to this arrangement, because either type may be used singly in combination with a separate handle, or two curves of the same type differing only in their degree of curvature may be included on one track.

The two types of curves referred to are, of course, the rearwardly extending curve and the upwardly extending curve terminating substantially at right angles to the straight portion of the track. Throughout the specification and claims I use these terms to cover curves whose respective curvatures are more or less than a right angle, so that the respective trajectories of the spools projected therefrom extend either substantially straight up into the air or forward of the operator, or the trajectories are directed toward the operator. I intend to use the term upwardly curved continuation to include both types of curves.

Although I have spoken of a long straight por-- tion II of the track I 0, I do not wish to confine myself to an absolutely straight segment, because section II of the track may have one or more slight curves therein without departing from the scope of this invention. I use the term long straight portion only as indicating the function of the inclined portion of my track, which consists of allowing the spool I to accelerate under the action of gravity. Itis obvious that a slight curvature of portion II of the track or a change in the length thereof will not affect its function. Therefore, I use the term long substantially straight portion, throughout my claims, as including such slight departures from the preferred embodiment described.

f The shape of the spool is critical only to the extent previously indicated, namely, the degree of tractivevcooperation of the flanges of the spool with the feather-edges of the track. The inner faces of the flanges 2 of the spool need therefore be convex only near their circle of contact with the track. The outer faces 4 of the flanges may be of any desired surface contour compatible with proper balance of the spool. The spool must be balanced or it will not roll freely.

The flanges 2 need not becircular, but may be of any shape symmetrical around the axis of pin V3. For instance, the spool may be triangular as shown in Fig. 3. The triangular flanges 2D have convex inner faces, and are spacedly joined by a pin 2|. I have found it useful to round off the corners 22 of the triangular flanges, both to decrease the danger of injury from sharp corners, and to avoid chipping of the same. Another modification of the spool is shown in Fig, 4, in which the flanges 25 are square. They are likewise spacedly joined by means of a pin 26. The inner faces of the flanges in this modification are convex except at the corners, which are flat. The resulting line of demarkation is shown at 21.

I have found that the value of my invention is greatly increased by the use of attractively colored spools of different shapes, and especially by the use of the polygonal spools described. When these are gaudily decorated, they provide a fascinating spectacle for both children and adults, as they whirl through the air.

Although I have described only a few modications of my invention, I do not wish to be restricted thereto, nor to the materials which I have suggested for their manufacture. Metal, wood, rubber, or composition are equally suitable materials of construction.

I claim:

1. An amusement device comprising a narrow featherledge track having a long substantially straight portion and an upwardly and rearwardly curved continuation at one end thereof, and a spool including two convex inner surfaces for straddling the feather-edge and tractively engaging oppositel faces of said feather-edge and adapted to roll along said track and to be projected from the upwardly curved end of said track into the air over a trajectory leading toward the operator of the device, under the combined action of gravity and of a deft manual movement of said track.

2. An amusement device comprising a thin feather-edge track having a long substantially straight portion and a curved portion projecting upwardly and rearwardly with respect to said straight portion, a handle secured to said track by means of which the track can be manually manipulated, a spool composed of two closely spaced discs held together at their central por tions, the contiguous faces of said discs being convex, the distance between said discs being such that when the spool is set upon the track, the point of contact between the spool and the track is spaced outwardly from the center of the spool at distance less than half the radius of the spool, and the angle between the portions of the track tangential to the convex faces of the spool being relatively acute so that when the spool is dropped upon the track the impact will tend to Wedge the spool and track together, whereby when the spool is tossed into the air and caught upon the track as it falls, it is restrained against rebounding therefrom.

3. In an amusement device comprised of a spool adapted to be tossed intothe air and a track upon which the spool may be caught as it falls and retossed into the air, the improvement which consists in forming the mating surfaces of the track and spool so that the spool straddles the track and is wedged thereagainst by its impact when dropped upon the track from a short distance so that when the spool is tossedinto the air and caught upon thetrack the wedging action between the track and spool is suflcient to prevent the spool from bounding upwardly from the track.

JOSEPH P. COLUCCI. 

